Rescue
by crazytook
Summary: SPOILERS for Doctor Who S3. Takes place during the Year that Wasn't. Jack has to watch his team be tortured, and he desperately wishes for some relief. Rating for the f word and some torture. There is implied M/M relationship as this is Jack/Ianto.


A/N This was written in a moment of…insanity, I guess. This is a one shot unless overwhelmingly requested otherwise. Please leave comments and constructive criticism. (I'll actually edit the chapter, too based on feedback!!)

This story is for cionaudha who loves neck snuggles.

Disclaimer: I don't own them. If I did, jack would be better written. J

Enjoy!!

Jack couldn't bring himself to look away. He never could. He wished he could. He wanted nothing more than to see something , anything else than the sight in front of him. But there was something that drew him every time to some terrible sight before him.

And the Master liked it that way.

And Jack wished he could look away, if not just to spite the Master, to ruin his plan.

But even if he closed his eyes, he could still hear the screams filtering into his glass cell.

He didn't know which was worse.

For a moment, the screams hit an impossibly high note and he silently wished that maybe it was enough to break the glass. That maybe he could save the source of the screams.

But Gwen Cooper's voice was not strong enough, the screams continued, and the glass stayed in place.

"Please, please…" Jack found himself begging. He hated when he begged. But after watching them torture Gwen for days…he had run out of ways to contain the situation. He'd tried yelling, screaming, protesting, pounding at the glass. It only got him shot in the head. He'd even tried seducing the Master. That only got him fucked and shot.

Finally, they stopped. Threw Gwen into a cell next to him, where he could see her, maybe even talk to her, if she had the strength to talk, but he couldn't touch her, couldn't hold her to comfort her.

And he wanted to be able to at least comfort her. But the Master wouldn't allow him that little reprieve.

And it hurt more that she was so close, yet so unreachable.

Because Jack was getting tired of telling members of his team that it would all be OK right before they died. He didn't want to lie to her, too. He wanted to hold her and make her feel safe. That wasn't a lie. He wasn't promising anything, just offering momentary relief.

Because he wasn't sure he'd be able to tell her she'd be OK. In a matter of weeks, she'd be dead. Depending on how long her body held out against the Master's tortured.

Gwen slid over to the glass near where Jack was.

"Jack…" She said softly.

Jack just looked up at her, sitting across from her, the glass in between them and held up his hand to the glass. She copied the movement and put her hand against the glass where his was.

"Shhh… Just…just get some sleep. Just sleep." Jack managed to say.

Gwen nodded, and laid down on the floor. Falling asleep immediately.

Jack sighed. He found himself watching her and dozing off as well.

When Jack woke up, Gwen was gone from her cell.

He listened. He couldn't hear her screams. He stood to look around for her. She was nowhere to be found. He shuddered to think what the Master had done with her. He started banging on the glass screaming her name, hoping that he'd get an answer of some kind.

"Gwen!!" GWEN!" He yelled repeatedly, becoming hoarse.

"She's alright for now." A familiar voice said from behind him.

Jack whipped around to face the intruder.

"How'd you get in here?" Jack demanded.

"I have my ways." The intruder said, a tiny smirk on his face.

"You have to get out of here, now. It isn't safe." Jack pleaded.

"I'll be alright. It's you I'm worried about."

"Ianto…" Jack faltered.

"Shh… I'm safe, I promise." Ianto reassured him.

"You're dead." Jack stated forlornly, looking down.

"Is that what he told you?" Ianto asked.

"Yeah. He said it when he…he had Owen. Said he'd hunted all of you down, said you were all traveling together. But that…that the 'pretty one'…Ianto he said you'd been killed in some kind of cross fire."

"And you believed him?" Ianto asked, on the verge of rolling his eyes at Jack.

"What else was I supposed to believe?"

"That he was lying. That I got away, and he didn't want to give you any reason to hope for a rescue attempt."

"So, if you got away, what are you doing here?"

"Being that rescue attempt he was afraid of."

"How'd you get in here?"

"Ran into a woman named Martha Jones. She gave me a key." Ianto winked.

"Those didn't work on the Master when the Doctor tried it…"Jack was confused. This didn't make sense.

"He wanted to see the Doctor. He doesn't want to see me." Ianto simply supplied.

"Why can I see you?" Jack asked in the voice of a five year old.

Ianto chuckled. He locked eyes with Jack and began to patiently explained, "You want to, Jack."

Jack laughed bitterly. Of course he wanted to see Ianto. He wanted to see Ianto alive and well. But he also wanted Ianto as far away from the Master as was possible.

"Why did you come here? Walk right into my cell? Ianto. This is dangerous. You need to be as far away from this place as you can be. You can't stop him. The Doctor couldn't. Ianto, you don't have a chance. He'll just use you…he'll…." Jack couldn't finish that sentence. He had mourned Ianto when he found out he was dead. Felt cut up by his death. But he'd been thankful that he didn't have to watch. That Ianto had died quickly, without pain. But now. Now Ianto was here, and he didn't stand a chance.

"I know." Ianto said, shocking Jack's thoughts into silence.

"..then…Then why are you here?" Jack asked.

"Because you need me." Ianto simply replied.

"I need you alive and well, so that if…WHEN the doctor gets us out of here, I can find you." Jack said.

"Is that really what you want?" Ianto asked.

Jack paused, with the word yes on his lips. Then shook his head no.

"I knew you, Jack. I know what you really want." Ianto said smiling.

Jack was about to speak, when he heard Gwen's cries again. He looked at Ianto frantically, hoping against hope Ianto wouldn't be seen.

"Well, well…" The Master said as he looked into Jack's cage.

Jack feared the Master had seen Ianto.

"Day 4. This one is resilient. But can she beat the Torchwood record of 12 days?" The Master goaded.

"Leave her alone!" Jack shouted.

"Not likely. Not when I have something as fun as I have planned for today!" The Master took something out of his pocket…it was a small vial.

"Poison!" The Master exclaimed. "It won't kill her, just cause her some pain. And the best part? I don't have to do any of the work. I can get some nasty paperwork done while I watch her writhe in agony for a few hours. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"No!" Jack shouted as he watched the Master force Gwen's mouth open and administer the poison to her. The poison was quick acting, and in seconds, Gwen was screaming, collapsing to the ground in pain.

"Gwen!" Jack screamed, going to the ground himself, trying to get to her through the glass, even though he knew the futility of the movement.

"Jack." Jack turned to watch Ianto settle an arm on Jack's shoulder, pulling Jack up to standing to face him.

"Help her!" Jack cried.

Ianto just shook his head sadly.

"Ianto, please, help…help her."

Jack searched Ianto's eyes realizing Ianto was just as trapped in this cage as he was. He turned to where he could hear Gwen screaming in pain, her voice giving out a little.

But before he could turn to face her, Ianto turned him back to face him.

"Look away, Jack. Look away." Ianto softly commanded.

Jack began to protest, but Ianto grabbed him by the back of the neck, forcing his gaze to stay on Ianto.

"Shhh…" Ianto said, pulling Jack closer to him.

Jack burrowed his head into the space between Ianto's neck and shoulders, and closed his eyes as Ianto held him tightly. Jack let the sweet whispered welsh vowels Ianto was speaking drown out the screaming he could still barely hear.

They stayed like that even after the screaming stopped.

Fin.


End file.
